IN HOC SIGNO VINCES

New York: Man joined jihad group, trained with AK-47 and rocket-propelled grenades

Jones flew to Kenya from New York and then entered Somalia and joined al-Shabaab. Why did he do this? Which New York mosque did he attend? What do they teach there? Does anyone know? Does anyone care? Or are authorities waving such questions away with the old standby trope, “He was radicalized on the Internet”?

U.S. citizen Maalik Alim Jones has pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to Somalia-based terror group al-Shabaab.

Jones, 32, left his wife back home and flew to Kenya from New York in 2011, traveling to Somalia via land once he had arrived in Kenya. Upon entering Somalia, Jones immediately began working with al-Shabaab and receiving military training from the terror group, including how to operate an AK-47 and rocket-propelled grenades, according to a Department of Justice press release.

“I knew that my actions were a violation of the laws of the United States,” Jones said.

Jones quickly moved up the ranks to join al-Shabaab’s special unit, known as Jaysh Ayman. As part of that unit, Jones attacked soldiers from the Kenyan government.

In total, Jones fought for four years as part of al-Shabaab.

Somali authorities arrested Jones in December 2015 as he was trying to head to Yemen, at which point he was sent back to the United States….

“As he admitted in court today, Maalik Jones traveled to Somalia, was trained by al Shabaab in the use of an AK-47 and rocket-propelled grenades and took up arms for four years as a terrorist fighter,” said New York Acting Attorney Joon Kim. “For his allegiance to this lawless, terrorist organization that vows to destroy America and its values, Maalik Jones been held to account in an American court of law. All that is left is for him to be sentenced for his crimes.”